Lily Potter and the New Threat
by better-be-gryffindor
Summary: Twenty-five after the end of Lord Voldemort's threat, the Wizarding World has been quite calm. However, the arrival of a new Minister is going to mess things up, and it's time for Harry Potter's daughter to be the hero.
1. Discipline above it all

**Chapter One – Discipline above it all**

The newest Daily Prophet copy was over the table when Lily Luna Potter entered the kitchen, already fully dressed. She preferred Muggle clothes rather than the weird capes wizards used. She'd woken up in a good mood this morning… until she saw the headline.

_Discipline above it all:_ _new government method stated by the Minister of Magic._

It was only a matter of time before the wizarding world would see a headline like that. Since the new Minister had stepped up, rumours had spread, people whispered about it… and there it was. What everyone had been waiting for – and fearing.

Lily's mother, Ginny Potter, was just placing the Pumpkin Juice on the table, fully set with breakfast. She was wearing her sleeping robes, her fiery hair tied up in a pony tail. The resemblance between the two of them was astonishing, bordering on _scary_. They had the same bright brown eyes and long red hair.

"Morning, sweetheart," Ginny said. "We're going to Diagon Alley this morning to buy school supplies. Later, there will be family dinner at your grandmother's house."

Lily nodded vaguely, her eyes focused on the newspaper. The mood had already been killed. She grabbed the Daily Prophet.

The new Minister's photo was covering an entire page. He had shoulder-length black hair and was middle-age, smiling brightly at the camera. He had convinced many people with that smile. Next to it was the article.

_One week after taking the lead of the Wizarding World, Minister William Potts is now stating a new government method. Always thinking forward, the Minister has announced, during exclusive interview for The Daily Prophet, that all he sees with this new project are benefit increases.  
>"Twenty five years after the historical threat of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, our world has been quite calm," said the Minister. "However, it never was the same ever since. So, with this method, I intend to bring back the normality we used to have before You-Know-Who. I will state new laws and review the old ones. <em>Discipline above it all_!"  
>The Wizarding World will know whenever new laws are stated. Keep your eyes on your copies of The Daily Prophet and guarantee now your subscription with 35 nuts of discount!<em>

When Lily finished the reading, the Minister's words were still echoing in her head. _Discipline above it all. _It didn't sound good.She could only think of one thing when she read those words: dictatorship.

"Reckon they didn't mention Kingsley was forced to quit," Lily observed.

"Conveniently," Ginny said. "They didn't mention a lot of things, actually. The Daily Prophet hasn't been the same after Voldemort. It was a nice place work before this new Minister, though."

"You won't quit, will you?"

"Certainly not," said Ginny. "Someone has to be there to publish non-manipulated information."

Lily smiled. "You're awesome, Mum, you really are."

Ginny, who had been the best player at the Holyhead Harpies Quidditch team back in the day, now worked at the Daily Prophet as senior Quidditch reporter. She was probably the only serious journalist of that newspaper nowadays.

Harry Potter, Lily's father, entered the kitchen, just putting on a jacket. He was just putting his glasses over his bright emerald eyes. His black hair was all messy, but it wasn't because he had just woken up, it was because it was always like that.

From her father, Lily had only gotten some features. The shape of her eyes, nose and smile. It was possible to see they were related, though.

"Good morning, girls." Harry kissed Ginny on the lips and messed up Lily's hair. "What do we have for breakfast?"

"Everyone's favorites," Ginny said promptly. "Since James is coming today, I reckoned I should elaborate."

The front door opened loudly and, as if on cue, Lily's older brother passed through it. James's hair, like Harry's, was always untied, though James' was a little lighter, dark brown. His eyes were Ginny's. He was the perfect mix between his parents.

"Morning, Potters!" he announced.

As he entered the kitchen, he threw Lily one of the three letters he was carrying. Not at all gently.

"You brute," Lily grumbled.

James didn't seem to hear. He asked, "Where's Al?"

"Asleep," Harry told him. "Are these the letters from Hogwarts?"

"Yep," James answered. "And an extra one for Lily. From her _boyfriend_."

Lily blushed significantly. She caught a glimpse of her father's face and immediately wanted to kill James.

"I have no boyfriend, you moron," she protested. "Who sent it?"

"Scorpius Malfoy," James said with exceeded enthusiasm.

Lily rolled her eyes "He's my friend." Her heart had almost stopped when she heard Scorpius's name, though. But James didn't have to know that. He _couldn't _know that, or he'd never leave her alone.

"No, he's _Al's_ friend," James corrected. "He's your… _something_."

The atmosphere was tense now. Scorpius was Draco Malfoy's son, an old nemesis of Harry during school years. Draco had been a Death Eater for a while, the group that used to serve Voldemort. He'd regretted it and restarted his life, but the ghost of his actions still remained.

But Scorpius was so nice. He was sweet and caring and gentle, not to mention amazingly loyal to his friends. All girls at Hogwarts fancied him. He'd met Albus, Lily's other brother, at Hogwarts and they immediately connected, even coming from different Houses and despite the rivalry between their families. Their friendship proved you could break the _status quo_.

Lily took a deep breath. Worst of all, James was right. She wasn't Scorpius's friend, not really. He was nice to her because she was his friend's little sister, that was it. But they exchanged letters a lot, and talked at school… That had to mean they were _something_, right?

"Are you going to give me that or not?" Lily pointed at the letter, still on James's hands. "After all, it's _my _letter. It was sent to me."

He was too busy checking the envelope. "Malfoy is a Slytherin, isn't he?" he asked, without looking up.

"So what?" Lily demanded.

The idea that all Slytherins were bad made Lily angry. The house all Potters were sorted to, Gryffindor, was supposed to be enemies with Slytherin. These days, this had mostly changed. It was rare when all four houses weren't in harmony recently. There were a few rivalries, but nothing impossible to handle.

"James, leave your sister alone," Ginny scolded. "It doesn't matter to us if she has a Slytherin friend or not. Right, Harry?"

Harry took a while to answer. He pretended to be reading The Daily Prophet to avoid it.

"Harry?" insisted Ginny.

"Right," he finally answered, though a little sharply.

James threw Lily the letter. She didn't check it at first. She didn't want to seem desperate to read it in front of James, so she opened her Hogwarts letter.

"It's quite strange," James said as he sat down at the table for breakfast. "You know. I won't receive another Hogwarts letter ever again."

James had finished his magical education the year before. Since then, he went to live at place of his own and was now working at Gringotts as a Curse Breaker. Behind all those jokes, James was pretty smart and competent.

Albus entered the kitchen then. He was about to start his seventh year at Hogwarts, two years ahead of Lily. He had received the title of Prefect on his fifth year and was a very intelligent student. Physically, it was like a seventeen-year-old Harry had just walked into the kitchen. Albus was young Harry like Lily was young Ginny. The only thing was that Albus didn't wear glasses.

"Morning," he greeted. "Have the Hogwarts letters arrived yet?"

"Here," said James, giving Albus his letter.

Albus opened the envelope and almost immediately gasped. "I'm Head Boy!" he exclaimed.

"What a surprise," James said sarcastically.

"Congrats, bro," Lily told him.

"That's great, Al," Ginny and Harry said altogether.

Then, when everyone was focused on Albus, Lily finally opened Scorpius' letter. She was willing to read it.

_Dear Lily,  
>I'm sorry for the lack of news during the vacations. I've been traveling with my parents to Scotland. I'm really enjoying it. Dad's patience level is near zero, though. Dunno what the problem is.<br>Reckon this letter won't be arriving until the middle of August. Poor Jimmy has never traveled such long distance. Make sure you feed him before he leaves. I can pay you later. Anyways, I'll already wish you happy birthday, just in case. I've got your present, I bought it here in Scotland. You'll love it.  
>You don't need to answer this letter. I must be returning to England soon, so we can talk on September 1<em>_st__.  
>Hope you're doing all right. Miss you.<br>Scorpius_

Lily was happy she finally got news from Scorpius. Her fifteenth birthday had indeed been just a few days ago, and she was happy he'd remembered it. He didn't seem well, though. Something was wrong when he said she didn't need to answer the letter. And if his father's patience was low, he must've known the motives. There were some things he didn't want to tell.

"Lily, won't you eat your breakfast?"

Everyone was looking at her while she'd zoomed out. How embarrassing. She felt her face blush.

Lily tried to be casual. "Oh, yes." She grabbed the bottle of Pumpkin Juice. "Where's the owl that brought this, James?"

"I've already fed it, if that's what you're asking," he answered. "It's outside, waiting for you."

Lily stopped filling her glass with Pumpkin juice. Her hand froze midair as she stared at James. She set the bottle down and stood up, staring at James.

"You've read my letter!" she exclaimed.

"No, I–" he stammered.

"Don't lie to me!" Lily demanded.

His face was pink now, and he couldn't look Lily in the eyes. Harry, Ginny and Albus were in shock, not sure what to do.

"I'm sorry!" said James, seeming honestly ashamed. "I was curious, I–"

"Save it for yourself" Lily interrupted. "Next time, why don't you ask my friends to send their letters directly to you, so you can read them before you give them to me?"

Lily walked out of the kitchen to her bedroom upstairs. She threw herself over her bed, trying to calm herself down. Lucky she hadn't been with her wand, or she would've been expelled from Hogwarts.

As she gradually calmed down, Lily started to think she had exploded a bit too much. True, James shouldn't have read it, but… There was nothing exceptionally private on that letter. James just had chosen an inconvenient moment to be a jealous big brother. Lily was a very calm person most of the time, which was why everyone had been so shocked about the whole situation.

Lily's bedroom door opened. Nobody was there, apart from a flying package of Chocolate Frog.

"Oh, look what we have here," Lily said, amused. "Flying chocolate. What a dream come true."

James took off Dad's Invisibility Cloak and showed himself. "Reckoned you would like it." He entere the room and gave Lily the Chocolate Frog.

Lily smiled. "Thanks."

She opened the package. The frog jumped out of it and fell on the floor, getting lost in the wooden floor. Lily was more interested on the card, anyway.

Harry Potter's face was staring back when Lily turned the card over. On the back of the it was a short paragraph about him.

_Harry Potter  
>(3107/1980-present)  
>Also known as <em>The Boy Who Lived _and _The Chosen One_, Harry Potter became famous when he was one year old. He survived the Killing Curse, cast by _He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named_, leaving Potter with a lightning shaped scar on his forehead. It later became his mark. Then, sixteen years after that, he defeated _You-Know-Who _himself. Harry Potter is the only wizard who has ever survived all three Unforgivable Curses. Nowadays, Mr Potter lives peacefully with his wife and children in Godric's Hollow, where his parents once lived._

It was quite strange when things like that happened. Sometimes, Lily almost forgot he was famous. But there were loads of things about him, like cards, history books and bibliographies which helped her to remember it. Lily was recognized everywhere, not as Lily Potter, but as Harry Potter's daughter. Several times she had _studied_ about her father at school.

He was a hero to his daughter and sons, and they were proud of being his children. Harry had done exceptional things and had been through a lot. She didn't mind all the attention, it was fine. It was just surreal, having such famous father. In fact, Lily's whole family was well known in the Wizarding World.

James sat by Lily's side at her bed. "This was I hoped to be an apology gift." He sighed. "I'm sorry for reading your letter. I really am."

"Don't worry." Lily put the card over her nightstand. "It's all right, Jamie. I'm sorry too. There was nothing private on that letter. I shouldn't have been so angry."

"No," he insisted "You were right. It's just… You're my little sister. It's my job to protect you."

Lily blinked twice, to make sure it was James who was saying those words. It must've been really hard for him, James Sirius, the prankster, to show affection. Those were such rare moments, it made Lily feel important.

"Aw, come here." Lily put an arm around his shoulders. "Jamie, you're so adorable."

He grunted. "Am not."

Lily laughed. "Yeah, you are. You're a big softy." She was satisfied to find out that his ears were turning pink.

James grabbed hold of the Invisibility Cloak. He stared at it, took a deep breath. Then he handed it to his sister. "You should keep it."

"What? No!" Lily exclaimed. "It's yours, Dad gave it to you."

"I'm not gonna need it anymore," James insisted. "I'm a Gringotts employee now, not a school kid. And Albus is Head Boy, he isn't gonna need it either. He can do whatever he please. Come on, take it."

"James–"

"Stop being so silly. Take it. You'll make good use of it, I'm sure."

Lily sighed. She knew he wasn't going to give up until she took it. So she did. This must mean a lot to James, Lily realized. It had been his most treasured possession for a really long time. "I'll honor the family inheritance." She smiled at him. "Thank you."

Albus appeared by the door that very moment. He crossed his arms, leaning over the wall with a smirk. "Funny thing to say to someone you've almost hit minutes ago."

James and Lily laughed.

"I was pardoned," James announced in triumph.

Lily nodded. "Yeah, he was. We're okay now."

"You better be." Albus entered the room and sat on my bed too. "Just for the record, I know Scorpius is pretty cool, but I won't think twice about hexing him if he hurts you."

Lily laughed. "Great. I have _two _protectors."

"He'd better watch out, then," James observed.

All three Potter siblings hugged each other, laughing. As much as sometimes they got on her nerves, Lily loved her brothers. Despite everything, they really cared and wanted what was best for her.

"Are we interrupting anything?" someone asked.

The siblings looked around. Ginny and Harry were standing by the door holding hands, smiling, ready to go.

"Not interrupting at all," Lily said, punching jokingly her brothers' shoulders. They all laughed.

Lily let Scorpius's owl go into her room. "Don't worry, Jimmy. I'll be right back to send you home. Meanwhile, just get a rest."

The owl made a satisfaction noise.

Downstairs, the Potter family went to the living room, where was the fireplace. Beside it, was our Floo Powder.

Harry got the first handful, walked into the fireplace and threw the powder, yelling, "Diagon Alley!" And he disappeared.

Next was James, then Albus. Lily went afterward, leaving Ginny last.

Traveling by Floo Powder wasn't very comfortable. It was the only safe transport for an underage witch as Lily, though. She was the only one in my family under the age of seventeen. Quite annoying, really. And she'd rather use Floo Powder than Muggle's transports.

As soon as she got there, Lily wished I could say to whoever would come next to _stay home_.

Diagon Alley was chaotic.


	2. The Big Funnel

**Chapter Two – The Big Funnel**

As soon as Lily stepped out of the fireplace, she was immediately carried by the panicked people. It took her several minutes to manage staying put. She eventually could hold onto something to stop being carried. Everyone was running, calling for their children, Disapparating or entering the fireplaces.

Lily was scared out of her mind. She needed to find her family.

She still wasn't able to see what was happening. Despite being afraid, she really wanted to know what was going on. Maybe then she could look for her family.

Lily made her way through, finally reaching the eye of the storm. Now she could see a bit of the disorder. Lily saw one person wearing red clothes… then one more… no, definitely there were more than two people. She could see a fair lot of people wearing red. Probably they were the ones to blame.

"Not _again_!" someone shouted.

And suddenly she was on the ground. Someone had collided with Lily and made her fall to the ground. Pain shot up her ribs. She couldn't tell if anything was broken, but it was hurting like hell.

Lily got up quickly, because she didn't want anyone to step on her. Again, she was carried by the crowd. Her ribs were screaming in protest.

She fell on the ground again when she reached the main area of Diagon Alley. Here, the people in red were more numerous, and so were the regular witches and wizards. Lily wasn't able to get up as quickly as she did before. Someone kicked her stomach. She couldn't breathe.

Lily finally stood, stumbling. The people in red were casting spells and imprisoning terrified witches and wizards. There were a few ones lying on the ground. Were they dead? The idea terrified her. And even if they were just injured, Lily could tell they weren't just lying on the ground of Diagon Alley because they _wanted_ to.

Lily knew she had to get away from there, and quickly, but _how?_ She didn't know how to Apparate, and she didn't have any Floo Powder with her. Her only hope was to find her family among all those people. It would be a difficult task.

She took her wand out of her pocket, though she had no idea what she could do with it. She was underage and, assuming those people were from the Ministry – and Lily was almost one hundred per cent sure they were –, doing magic wouldn't bring her any benefits. Even if for self-defense.

Suddenly someone grabbed her arm. Lily tried to get rid of the tight grip, terrified to have been caught by unknown people wearing red, but the person was really strong. Then everything started to spin and went dark. A Side-Along-Apparition. Lily's eyes were forced against her skull. The stranger's hand was heavily compressing her arm.

And then it simply stopped. Lily's feet hit somewhere else's ground and she fell. Only then she was able to open my eyes.

She was home, at Godric's Hollow. Lily recognized gradually the living room's floor, the furniture… It was all so quiet and peaceful, the complete opposite of Diagon Alley.

Lily jumped to her feet, ignoring the pain which came after. Albus was there, standing before her, eyeing her worriedly. He had a black eye and looked really pale, but seemed fine apart from that.

Lily's eyes filled with tears. She was so happy to see him alive that she threw herself on his arms, sobbing. She couldn't even put into words what she was feeling.

"It's okay," Albus whispered, striking his sister's hair. "Are you hurt?"  
>"Just a little." She sniffled. "You?"<p>

"I'm fine," he assured.

Lily let him go, drying her tears and looking at him. "Where's James? Where are Mum and Dad?"

"I don't know." Albus's voice trembled. "You were the only one I could find."

Lily felt a thrill of fear. Her body trembled. She didn't even want to think what could've happened with her parents and her brother.

Albus put his hands on Lily's shoulders, looking right into her eyes. She immediately felt safer. Lily had always know that, behind all that intelligence, there was a hero inside Albus. Just as in Harry.

"Lily," he said, "I have to come back to see what's going on."

Lily grabbed hold of his wrists desperately. "No! Don't go back there! You can end up dead!"

"And so can James, Mum and Dad!" He sighed. "I have to look for them. They were supposed to be here by now. They know how to Apparate. Something might have happened."

He was right, of course. But Lily couldn't even think about letting him go, not again. Not when she might lose him.

"Well, then I'm coming with you," she said firmly.

Albus shook his head. "You're not allowed to use magic outside school, and you can't Apparate, Lily. Besides, someone has to stay here to see if they come back."

"And how am I supposed to tell you if they get back?" she asked. "Don't expect me to stay here waiting in safety while you're risking your life! I–"

James suddenly Apparated between Albus and Lily, interrupting the argument. He didn't seem injured at all, apart from some scratches on his cheeks. Lily and Albus immediately forgot they were fighting and hugged James at the same time.

"Thank Merlin you guys are here," James said, patting his younger siblings' hairs. "You good?"

"Where have you _been?_" asked Albus desperately. "Why didn't you come back right after you saw the mess? We were worried!"

"Calm down, okay?" James sat down on the couch. "I'm here, I'm fine. See?" He moved his arms and legs to show they weren't damaged.

Albus and Lily sat too, at each side of James, feeling a bit more relieved.

"Come on, James, just tell us," Lily said. "Do you know what was happening at Diagon Alley? Where are Mum and Dad?"

James sighed. "Well, as soon as I got there, my first thought was to look for you two. I asked for a group of journalists of Daily Prophet what was going on, and they said the Ministry people were doing what they called The Big Funnel. I don't know what exactly that is, but I decided not to ask. I was focused on you. But I only found Mum and Dad. They were going to talk to the people in red to know what was going on. I was told to come back home to see if you two were here. And here you are."

So, they really were from the Ministry, those people in red. And what was The Big Funnel? Why that person had shouted 'not again'? Lily was sure nothing named The Big Funnel had happened before. Not with that name, at least.

Then she gasped. "It's happening again."

"What?" asked James and Albus at the same time.

"When Voldemort was controlling the Wizarding World, he had the entire Ministry on his side," Lily recalled. "There was a time when they were sending Muggle-borns to Azkaban, saying they had robbed magic from a wizard, because the Ministry was trying to prove is only possible to a wizard be born in a magical family."

James and Albus looked at me, their eyes wide.

"The Big Funnel," said Albus. "They are trying to do it again. To exclude Muggle-borns from our world."

"I knew this Minister was mad since I read that article on Daily Prophet," said James. "_Discipline above it all_. That's just a nicer way to say 'I'm taking absolute control of the Wizarding World.'"

His words hit everyone hard. That killed the mood. They were about to face a new era like Voldemort.

The three of them heard a noise. They jumped. Ginny and Harry had Apparated in the middle of the living room. They weren't injured, just a little frightened. Lily, Albus and James threw ourselves to them.

"Heavens, you're all right!" said Ginny.

"Not _all_ right," Harry obsserved when he looked at his children.

I finally remembered my broken ribs, which started to hurt very painfully. But I didn't care about them, not right now.

"What was happening there?" Lily asked her parents "The boys and I thought it might be problems with the Muggle-borns again."

Harry and Ginny exchanged nervous looks.

"You're right," Harry admitted. "That was a sample of what our world will look like from now on."

Both Albus and James set their jaws. Lily's hands trembled.

Ginny summoned an ice cube and gave it to Albus, so he could put it over his black eye. "I'll give you something to that later, sweetie. James, you all right?"

"I'm okay, Mum," he said.

Then Ginny turned to Lily. "You go to your room and rest for a bit. I'll go up in a minute. We still have a family dinner to attend."

The family dinner. I'd completely forgotten about it. It wouldn't be easy to face my family after this. All I could think was about aunt Hermione, who was Muggle-born. What would've happened to her if she was at Diagon Alley when The Big Funnel had started?

Lily went upstairs slowly. Her ribs were hurting more than ever now that the adrenaline rush had passed. She lay down on her bed with difficulty.

Soon after, Ginny entered the room. She was carrying a kit of medicinal potions with her. Lily could see how worried she was.

"Where does it hurt, sweetie?" she asked, trying to smile.

"My ribs," Lily answered. "I think they're broken."

"I have Skele-Gro here," Ginny said.

She filled a glass with Skele-Gro and gave it to her daughter. Lily drank it. She already knew the taste – when you're a Chaser on Gryffindor Quidditch team, it's normal to get injured often –, but it didn't make things easier. She almost threw up. And it was like her throat was being burned down. Worst of it was the excruciating pain which was coming soon.

"Mum, what about the school supplies?" Lily asked. That had been what the family had gone to Diagon Alley for in first place.

"Don't worry, dear," said Ginny. "We'll go back there when things calm down. Maybe a couple of days from now."

Lily sighed. She couldn't stop thinking about what had happened. "This thing, The Big Funnel," she said. "Is it all about Muggle-borns?"

Ginny was trying to avoid the answer by checking the potions. Finally, she looked up and said simply, "We don't know yet."

"It's just like it was before, isn't it?"

The question came out before Lily could help it. But, as expected, Ginny didn't answer. She just cuddled the top of Lily's head and changed the subject. "I'll give you a Dreamless Sleep Potion," she said, "thus you won't feel your bones growing. If you take it now, you'll be awake in time for dinner."

Lily knew she wouldn't be able to extract any more information from her mother, so she nodded. "Thank you, Mum."

She drank the potion. And she was grateful her mother had given her a Dreamless Sleep Potion, not a simple Sleeping Draught. Lily was almost sure she would've dreamt about the people in red if she hadn't.

When she woke up, Lily felt dizzy and her vision was blurred. Her head was extremely heavy. Her ribs were fine, though. When Lily was able to see properly, she went downstairs, where her parents and her brothers were waiting. Lily could sense they'd been talking seriously before she arrived, but stopped quickly at the sight of her. But she decided not to say anything. She was pleased to see Albus' eye was better now.

They went to the fireplace.

Lily was willing to go to The Burrow, her grandparents' house. There was a family dinner there once a month, when _everyone _had to come. Lily loved her big family. They were everything to her. Perhaps they could still save this disastrous day.

Ginny was the first one to go through the fireplace this time. Albus came next, then James, then me, and Harry was the last one. Granny and Gramps Weasley were waiting for them.

"Oh, my little sweeties, not so little anymore," said Molly, hugging James, Albus and Lily at once.

"You all are so grown up, eh?" said Arthur. "Come in, come in."

They greeted Harry and Ginny. Lily and her brothers went to the kitchen, where Molly had already prepared some food for the meal.

Although Lily's grandparents had had seven children, the table wasn't big enough for all the guests. Imagine five of these children with their spouses and at least two children, _each_. Plus the aggregates, of course. Yes, it was an _enormous _family.

Apparently, Molly and Arthur didn't know about the mess at Diagon Alley yet, because they didn't say anything. And Lily's parents weren't going to tell them yet. Lily knew Harry and Ginny: they were going to wait until the last minute to tell everyone.

Then the guests started to arrive. Uncle Bill and Aunt Fleur stepped out from the fireplace, with Lily's cousins Victoire, Dominique and Louis.

Talk about a _good-looking _family. With Bill's charm and Fleur's Veela blood, it was only obvious their children would come out ridiculously beautiful. Victoire was the typical Veela, identical to Fleur: tall, slim, with long, straight, _perfect _blonde hair and steel blue eyes. Dominique, two years younger and equally beautiful, had inherited her father's red hair and some of his features, but she was delicate as her mother with the same blue eyes. And Louis, the youngest, was dark-blond and blue-eyed. All of them had graduated from Hogwarts.

Uncle George and Aunt Angelina came next, with Fred and Roxanne.

It was possible to tell that Fred and Roxanne were siblings just by the fact they were always pulling pranks on each other, as it was expected from George's children. He had taken his father's appearance, ginger and freckly, while she was more like her mother, with darker skin and brown hair.

Right after them came Uncle Percy and Aunt Audrey with their daughters Molly and Lucy. They had only a year of difference, which explained why they looked like twins. Molly had brown hair and Lucy had red hair, but they had the same height and appearance.

Teddy Lupin, Harry's godson, arrived then. Everyone liked him very much. He was a Metamorphmagus, so his hair was never the same color. Today, it was blue. Although now he spent more time with Victoire, his girlfriend, than with his godfather's family, he was still a very good man. His parents had died when he was only a baby, just like Harry's.

Next, arrived Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione with Rose and Hugo. Rose, much like her mother, had brown hair, while Hugo was ginger like his father. Hugo, apart from being Lily's cousin, was her best friend too. They did everything together.

Uncle Charlie, who had traveled from Romania just for the party, was the last one to arrive. He remained unmarried with no children, and that had been his choice.

Dinner would take a while so the adults were laughing loudly at the kitchen while the kids talked at the living room.

Albus told everyone he was chosen to be Head Boy.

"Well," said Rose, laughing. "When I was a Prefect, you were too. Now this?"

"Don't you tell me–"

"Yes, I'm Head Girl," she said with a smile.

Albus and Rose were probably the most intelligent students from the entire school. He, a Gryffindor, and she, a Ravenclaw, deserved this more than anyone.

The kids talked about how were their vacations so far, what they had done. James told them about his job and so did Louis, who had started to work as a healer at St. Mungo's Hospital. Dominique was already established with her Quidditch career, training to join the Holyhead Harpies someday. As she'd told us, she was halfway through making it.

Albus and Rose were at their NEWTs' year, and they told everyone how they were already studying hard, even before the school year start. Fred was also in NEWT year, but he didn't seem half as hard-working. Meanwhile, Lily, Hugo, Lucy and Roxy were going to sit their OWLs that year.  
>After dinner, it was time to play. Uncle George had brought some products from his joke shop Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. It was very fun.<p>

Then Lily realized something. George's shop was at Diagon Alley. What if he had seen anything?

"Hey, Fred, Roxy?" Lily asked tentatively. No one else was paying attention. They were all playing with the WWW's products.

"Yeah?" Fred answered vaguely, laughing loudly as he tried to make his sister swallow some Puking Pastilles.

"Erm… Do you know anything about what happened at Diagon Alley today's morning?"

He dropped the pastilles and became pale. Everyone at the living room paid attention.

"Yeah," he said. "Roxy and I were at Dad's shop when it happened."

"When _what_ happened?" demanded Rose immediately.

Lily bit her lip guiltily, regretting to have spoken about the subject. She didn't want to tell her, or Hugo. They'd be worried.

"The Big Funnel," James said.

Lily, Albus, James, Roxy and Fred told the others everything they had seen at Diagon Alley. As I expected, everyone was in shock, but Rose and Hugo were the worst.

The family reunion became less fun after that. Rose and Hugo became very quiet. Lily hated to see them like that, but they had to know.

The adults didn't seem at all cheerful anymore either. Harry and Ginny, along with George and Angelina, must've delivered the news as well.

Late at night, everyone, one by one, used The Burrow's fireplace to come back home. The atmosphere was tense, despite everyone's efforts not to ruin everything. But it was unavoidable.

When Lily threw herself on her bed, she almost asked her mother to give her another dose of Dreamless Sleep Potion.


	3. Mugglewizard Relationship Control

**Chapter three – Muggle-wizard Relationship Control**

Lily couldn't keep her mind shut that night. Every time she closed her eyes, the scenes of The Big Funnel kept passing through her head like an endless movie. Impossible to sleep that way.

Eventually, she gave up and decided to go to the kitchen to get a glass of Bubble Juice. But halfway there, she heard murmurings. Coming from her parents' bedroom. Obviously, Ginny and Harry didn't want to be overheard.

It was impossible to hear anything. Lily suspected either Harry or Ginny had cast the Muffliato spell. But there were ways to crack the system.

The Bubble Juice and the insomnia lost importance. Lily came back to her room, grabbed her Extensible Ears – bless Weasley's Wizard Wheezes – and came back to the corridor.

"– becoming paranoid, Harry," Ginny was saying.

"Ginny, I genuinely think this chase of Muggle-borns is a distraction," insisted Harry.

"So are you saying you think it's _safe_ to leave Hermione unprotected?" Ginny asked angrily.

"That's not what I said," Harry said quickly. "I do think Hermione should be under the Fidelius Charm, just in case. But, for me, the Muggle-borns aren't the biggest target. It's not purposeless, yes, but it's also a distraction."

Ginny sighed, careful with her next words. "Harry, I know you're afraid we'll face a Voldemort-alike era."

"Of course I am. Aren't you?"

"Always," said Ginny seriously. "This indeed seems like only the tip of the iceberg, but… Do you think Potts would be as dangerous as what we went through years ago? So much has changed…"

"It's never too late to have another war," Harry said in a gloomy way.

Now Ginny seemed exasperated. "What happened to _all was well_?"

"That was before the arrival of this new minister. Kingsley told me he has this huge addiction to power and control. And Voldemort is nothing more than that. I know what I'm talking about. William Potts tends to be the Voldemort of this era."

There was silence, and I realized they were staring at each other.

"I think we should go to sleep," Ginny muttered.

Lily went back to her room, her ears echoing with her parents' voices. She had never witnessed a fight between Harry and Ginny before. And what they were talking about… that really scared Lily. She was even more awake than she was before.

Even though she wasn't interested on Bubble Juice anymore, Lily left her room again, this time to do the only thing which would make her relax a bit. As quietly as possible, she unlocked the front door and took a walk through Godric's Hollow.

The village wasn't calm as it was during the day. At night, it seemed particularly dark and terrifying.

Godric's Hollow wasn't an entirely wizarding village. There were Muggle families along with wizarding families, living peacefully. Lily quite liked to live around Muggles. They were extremely interesting and nice. Not bad and inferior like some witches and wizards thought. Lily didn't know why they had this thing about Muggles and Muggle-borns. There was nothing wrong with them.

Lily walked to the first place she thought about: the war memorial, an obelisk with names of dead soldiers. With no surprise, when she got closer, the memorial transformed. Lily was now looking at a statue of three people: a man with messy hair and glasses, a woman with a kind face, and a baby boy sitting in his mother's arms.

Lily sat in front of the statue of her grandparents and her father. That place had the power to calm her down. Several times she had gone there to cheer herself up. Even if it was also melancholic; Lily had never gotten the chance to meet her grandparents. She and James had taken their names as an honor.

She stared at them. They could've been so much. Instead, Voldemort had taken that family away, in a horrible way, too soon. Lily would never forgive him for that.

She wondered if she was anything like her grandmother. Everyone always said Lily looked like her, in personality and looks. That made her feel honored. She hoped she could live up to the expectations.

"I guess the two of us had the same idea."

Lily turned around. Her father, the grown up one, was standing just behind her. She got up in a jump. "Dad! I'm sorry, I shouldn't have–"

"Run away from home like that," he completed the sentence. Lily was relieved to see he wasn't mad. "It's okay, love. Your father here used to do worse things when he was younger. But you should be careful these days." He passed his arm around his daughter's shoulders. "Problems in sleeping?"

Lily nodded, biting her lip. "I'm worried. About Aunt Hermione."

"Don't worry about that," said Harry. "Your aunt is a very capable witch. Besides, we'll take good care of her."

Lily really wanted to believe that, but she still felt uneasy. The wizards from the Ministry were also capable, after all. They stood there, looking at the statue of what once was a happy family.

"Dad?"

"Yes?"

"Will you be mad at me if I tell you I overheard you and Mum arguing just now?"

Harry held his daughter's shoulders more tightly. "You would know anyway. You see, your mother and I were worried. We know what is like to live an oppressive era, and we don't want you and brothers to experience this too."

Lily looked up. She had always seen her father as a real hero, but not as much as she was doing right now. She grabbed him for a sudden hug. She held him as tight as she could. Harry hugged her right back, even tighter.

"There," he said. "Now, let's go home. You better promise me you won't run away like this again. It's too dangerous. Understood?"

"Okay, Dad."

Of course she would do her best to keep her word. However, she didn't promise for a reason. But Harry, more than anyone, would understand.

/

A couple of days later, the Potters had something planned, but it was far from what they had expected.

There already had been a reunion with Ginny's side of the family. Now it was time to spend a day with my Harry's side.

Harry had almost no family, indeed. And, of the few family members, with two he didn't talk anymore. It only left Harry's cousin, Dudley Dursley.

Dudley was a nice person. He hadn't always been, but now he and Harry were close. Dudley had a loving wife, Steph, and one son, Riley Dursley. Riley was a sixteen-year-old, extremely polite and easy-going. The Potters loved to visit the Dursleys. They were lovely people.

As the five Potters got into the car, early that morning, Harry reminded them about the instructions.

"Okay, Potters, remember," said Harry. "No mentions about _anything_ related to magic. Now, let's recall it: where do you study?"

"Yanz Boarding School for Special Kids, in Cambridge," Albus and Lily said together.

"Where do you work?"

"With you and Mum, at the local newspaper," said James, bored.

Harry made them repeat that every single time they went to visit the Dursleys. Dudley was aware about his cousin's family magical abilities. Steph and Riley were not. So the Potters were obligated to keep secret.

The Dursleys' place was located in a village called Rube Rosebud, a three-hour trip from Godric's Hollow. The Potters had to use Harry's Muggle car – which never left the garage, except in situations like that –, because they couldn't simply appear beside their house without seeming very suspicious.

They arrived at the Dursleys' at 12 p.m. punctually. Steph greeted them cheerfully. She was a happy lady, we rarely saw her stressed.

"What a wonderful visit!" she said, taking off the apron she was wearing. "Ginny, dear, you look astonishing, as always! And you, Harry! Come in, come in! Oh, you three, I remember when you were little babies, all of you!"

The house was small, but pretty and comfortable. Dudley was sitting on the sofa, watching a program on TV. Riley was sitting beside his Dad, reading the local newspaper, where Ginny, Harry and James were supposed to work.

"We were just waiting for you," said Steph. "I'm just finishing a special lunch for us."

"I'll help you, Steph," said Ginny kindly, and both of them disappeared to the kitchen.

Harry and Dudley shook hands and left to sit outside at the front yard. Riley dropped the newspaper and got up to greet Lily, James and Albus. He shook the boys' hands and kissed Lily's. Then he waited for the three siblings to sit down to sit too.

Riley was the most polite boy on Earth. He was an actual gentleman. Lily often got embarrassed with all that. But Riley never seemed to notice.

They didn't have to wait much for lunch. Steph and Ginny put the food on a big table on the yard, where Harry and Dudley were. The adults sat in one side of the table and the boys and Lily sat on the other one.

Lily and Albus presented difficulties in remembering the names of Muggles' school subjects. Riley kept asking them which ones were their favorites. Lily said the only one she could remember of – Math, the smallest name –, and Albus, who obviously didn't remember any of them, said he liked them all. That was acceptable, because Albus was very studious.

Riley was telling them how he had managed to get straight A's all over his life, when Lily heard constant scratching noises. She thought it was her imagination, but she lost completely the track of the conversation. She took a look at the yard, but she didn't see anything suspicious.

Then Lily's eyes looked down to the bushes beside her. They were moving. She looked more carefully, then she saw something which almost made her heart stop completely.

There was a wand, definitely a wand, pointing directly to the kids' table. Lily only had time to scream: "EVERYBODY DOWN!" when the person carrying the wand casted a spell towards them.

They all dived to the ground heavily. Riley wasn't fast enough: he was hit by the first spell, and fell, unconscious. More spells were flying around.

Then the wizard showed himself. It wasn't just one, though. Five wizards appeared from behind the bushes, their wands emitting jets of red light across the yard.

Lily crawled to Riley. After she checked his pulse and made sure he was alive, she dragged him through the grass and put him under the table.

When Lily crawled back, the five wizards were still trying to hit their targets. Not the Potters, but the _Dursleys_. With Riley already unconscious, they were pointing their wands to Dudley and Steph.

Harry, Ginny, Albus and James had gotten up now. The four of them were protecting the Dursley couple, casting spells towards the wizards. Lily wished she could help them, but she couldn't for being underage. She knew she would make everyone in more trouble if she tried to help.

Dudley and Steph were so frightened they couldn't move. There were five enemy wizards against four Potters, so, eventually, the Muggle couple was hit by spells, and fell on the ground.

The wizards stopped casting spells. The three Dursleys were unconscious now. The Potters kept pointing the wands at them, though.

"We are from the Ministry of Magic," announced the first wizard. "I have orders to send to Azkaban anyone who attempts to injure us."

"I happen to be an employee from the Ministry of Magic as well," Harry said, promptly and cordially. "Harry Potter."

Harry didn't like the give the famous-person card, but sometimes it was necessary. Unlike what everyone expected, though, the men didn't seem interested.

"Apologies, Mr Potter, but no exceptions," said the first wizard, who was apparently the head of the department. "We are from the Muggle-wizard Relationship Control."

All Potters exchanged looks.

Harry raised his eyebrows. "This is new."

"The department was created for the newest law stated by the minister," explained a third wizard, giving Harry a note.

Harry eyed the paper. "_Muggle-wizard Relationship Control_," he read aloud. "_Each and every wizard or witch who make contact, direct or indirectly, with a person with non-magical blood, popularly known as 'Muggle', will be submitted to a warning. The memory of the referred Muggle will be modified if so. If the wizard or witch make contact with any other Muggle a second time, he or she will be sent to Azkaban, or to a disciplinary hearing if underage. The law will be made public on August 25__th__, and published on the Daily Prophet, but it will be effective immediately after its elaboration. William Potts, Minister of Magic._" Harry looked up to the five wizards from Muggle-wizard Relationship Control, seeming incredulous. "You can't be serious."

"This is rubbish!" Albus yelled. "We can't even _get close_ to Muggles?"

"You can't consider a law as stated if you don't warn people about its existence!" James argued.

"And how would you know when wizards and witches talk to Muggles?" Lily spoke up. "It's only possible if you put a trace on them. That's not the ethical thing to do!"

"Children, calm down," Ginny whispered, but they could see she was mad as well.

"We have to do what we were told by minister Potts," said one wizard. "Now, let us modify the memories of those Muggles. They won't remember anything since the moment you stepped on this yard."

They had no choice but to watch. After all, it was better off if the Dursleys didn't remember this encounter anyway. Harry held his two sons by the shoulders while Ginny put an arm across Lily. Their parents were the only thing stopping them from going after those horrible people.

Two men walked to Dudley and Steph. They pointed their wands at the couple and said at the same time: "Obliviate."

Then, a third man walked to Riley under the table and did the same thing to him.

The head of the department turned to the Potters. "Now, you and your family, Mr. Potter, will go home and never make contact with this Muggle family ever again. Have a nice day."

Harry nodded and walked to the car, Ginny beside him and Lily, James and Albus behind them, stepping heavily.

"'Have a nice day,' oh, please" said Albus sarcastically.

"They can't do that!" Lily exclaimed, sitting between her two brothers. "Poor Dursleys! They didn't deserve that! They aren't dangerous at all!"

"Honey, we know that," Ginny said, trying to control her anger. "But they are from the Ministry. They _can_ do that. We can't argue with them."

"Yeah, but… It's just so unfair."

"They went too far this time," Harry agreed. Here, he exchanged significant looks with Ginny. Lily noticed it was about their last argument.

The Potters continued for the next hour in silence. They were too shaken and angry to talk.

Then Lily remembered something. "Aunt Hermione's parents!" she exclaimed. What if aunt Hermione is planning a visit to her parents, the Muggles? e have to warn them about it!"

"She's right, Harry," Ginny agreed. "We can go there after we drop the kids at home."

Lily decided not to complain about it. As long as Hugo, Rose, Uncle Ron, Aunt Hermione and her parents to be safe, it was all good.

After the longest three-hour trip in history, Harry and Ginny dropped their by the front door and immediately Disapparated.

Without waiting for James and Albus, Lily ran inside and went upstairs as quickly as she could. Instead of entering her room, she went to her parents'. Hedwig II wasn't out. The majestic white owl was roosted on the window frame Lily smiled. "Hey, Hedwig, would you mind delivering a letter for me? Mum and Dad cannot know. Could you do me this favor, please?"

The owl hooted with dignity, as if the answer was obvious.

Lily grabbed parchment, feather and ink and started to write a brief letter.

_Dear D,  
>We won't be able to visit for a long time. We are having huge problems here, in "our world". I can't explain more, but I think you got it. We are all very sad, and we hope you understand. As soon as we get the problem fixed, visiting you will be the first thing we will do. We just don't know how long it will take.<br>Please tell the other two we had to move to another country. The last thing we want to do is to hurt you and them.  
>Don't try to write back. We will be in real trouble if you do so.<br>It's not a goodbye, remember it. The whole family already misses you.  
>Love, L.<em>

Lily turned to Hedwig II and tied the letter to her leg.

"Send it to Dudley Dursley, please, Hedwig," Lily told her. "You know where he lives. Send it directly to Dudley, do you understand?"

The owl roosted on Lily's shoulder, cuddled the girl with her head then flew out of the window.

Lily could only hope the Ministry couldn't track owls.

Ginny and Harry arrived an hour later. They told their children that Uncle Ron, Aunt Hermione, Rose, Hugo and the Grangers were all right. They told them about what happened at the Dursleys' as well.

Lily really wanted to see Hugo. He was the only one who would make her feel better. But she wasn't sure who would have to cheer up whom.

When she got back to her room, she found Hugo's owl by her window, carrying a letter with him.

Hugo seemed to have been trembling when he wrote the letter. The note was short and clear.

_I want to see you as soon as possible. We can meet at The Burrow. Send me Levi back with the date. Please, Lils. I think I will go crazy if I don't see you soon.  
>Hugs<em>


	4. Hugo's breakdown

**Chapter four – Hugo's breakdown**

He was late.

Lily was at The Burrow, one day after Hugo's letter. She was so worried. They had settled to meet at 2 p.m.

Almost an hour later, he hadn't shown up yet. Lily was at the living looking at the fireplace, just waiting for him to arrive. She was going out of her mind waiting.

"You hungry, sweetie?"

Molly was standing beside her with a piece of Cauldron Cake. Lily only shook her head. Thinking about food right now only made her nauseous.

Her grandmother eyed her sympathetically. "He will be arriving soon, dear. Don't worry about it."

"He's really late, Granny," Lily said to her. "And he said it was urgent."

She cuddled my head. "Why don't you get the cake? Get distracted. Maybe you'll feel better."

Lily didn't believe she would feel better, but she got the cake just to please Granny. She wasn't feeling well enough to eat. She felt sick only by looking at the piece of cake.

Then Uncle Ron and his son stepped out of the fireplace without warning. Lily dropped the cake. Her heart actually jumped against my chest when she stood up.

Both of them seemed miserable, especially Hugo. Lily's best friend and cousin looked pale, and he had big bags under his eyes.

Lily grabbed him for a hug immediately. To her relief, he held her right back. But not so tightly, like he didn't have the strength to do so.

"Hey, son," said Uncle Ron when Granny joined them. "Why don't you go inside with your grandmother? I want a word with your cousin here."

Hugo nodded vaguely. Molly embraced him and both of them went to the kitchen.

"Sorry we were late," Ron apologized. "Hugo didn't want to get out of bed."

Those words hurt. "Oh, uncle, what happened to him?"

He grabbed his niece's shoulder kindly. "He's just worried about his mother. We all are, really, but your cousin… well. He's more." He sighed. "Help him Lily. Hugo doesn't eat, he doesn't sleep and he doesn't talk to anybody. You're the only person who can help him. You're the only one he listens to. Please. You're his only chance."

Lily had never seen her uncle so nervous. He was a funny and relaxed person. Now, seeing him so worried about his son, made Lily see what was happening was serious.

"Don't worry, uncle," she assured with determination. "Hugo will get better. That's a promise."

He sighed in relief. "Thank you, sweetie. I hope you succeed."

And he Disapparated.

When Lily entered the kitchen of The Burrow, she saw Molly hadn't had any progress with Hugo. She had made him sit down and was now offering food to him. The table was covered with most of all food there was in the house.

"Sweetheart, I have Edible Dark Marks!" Granny said, shaking the sweets in front of him. "They're your favorite sweets. Please, take some."

Hugo simply shook his head.

Molly exchanged looks with Lily, not knowing what to do. Lily nodded, showing that she leave him to her.

She looked at her granddaughter proudly and left the kitchen.

Lily pulled a chair and sat in front of Hugo, studying his face carefully. "Hugs?"

He looked up. Although he was looking at her, his eyes blurry and unfocused, like he was seeing right through her.

"Hugs, it's me, Lils." His eyes seemed to focus bit by bit when he heard her voice. "Mate, seeing you like this hurts me. Don't shut down. Talking about your feelings is the only way you can get better. If you keep all this for yourself, we may lose you forever. Please, talk to me. Tell me everything that's wrong."

Hugo's eyes focused for the first time. Then, he did his best to give out a pained smile. "I'm a mess, aren't I?"

Lily laughed, feeling extremely relieved. She had been thinking of giving him an Elixir to Introduce Euphoria as a last resource, but he was talking. It wasn't over. She knew he'd do it. "You're not a mess, silly."

He smiled a little bit. "I'm sorry about this, Lils. I didn't want you to worry."

I smiled back. "There's nothing to be sorry about. I always worry. That's what I'm here for, right? Talk to me, mate."

She'd known Hugo for fifteen years. Lily knew he wasn't very good in explaining emotions. He was very reserved, so this explained his reaction to all of this. But he needed to talk this time.

It took him a long time to organize his thoughts. "I think when I was told about The Big Funnel was when everything started. I just collapsed. When I thought about what could've happened to Mum if she was at Diagon Alley during The Big Funnel…" He shivered. "And I couldn't stop thinking about it, so I got more and more worried. And yesterday they told us about the thing with Muggles, and I became hopeless. I could see I was making everyone worried and stressed, and I was feeling really bad about it. I wished I could just stop being sad and just come back to normal. But it's not so simple. Even if I tried hard, I couldn't get better, and I think this made me even more worried, if that is possible.

"So everyone at home was desperate, they didn't know what to do. But I knew someone who hadn't tried yet, and who definitely would make real progress. You. That was when I sent you that letter. Mum and Dad got so happy when they found out I had communicated with someone, even if it was by letter."

Lily hugged him, harder this time. He was able to really return the hug.

Granny was so happy with Hugo's progress that she cooked the greatest meal in history of meals for dinner. The best was that Hugo was really eating, probably for the first time in a long time. Lily could see how the color slowly came back to his face.

After that, they went upstairs, to where once was Hugo's father's room, to let him sleep for a few hours.

To Lily's relief, Hugo didn't complain. He seemed exhausted, as if he hadn't slept in days. He pulled his blankets all the way to his neck, until only his head was visible.

Lily sat on the edge of his bed. "How are you feeling? Are you fed up enough? Are you dizzy or anything?"

"I'm fine," Hugo said. "Thank you for everything."

"Like I said, that's what I'm here for."

He bit his lip. "Before I sleep… I need to tell you something."

Lily was surprised. He seemed serious. "Don't say anything that might upset you again."

"Don't worry about it, I have to tell you." He pulled off his blankets and sat down. "I don't think Mum and Dad were going to tell me, or Rose, about this. But I kind of overheard it. This thing with the Muggle-borns... You know my Mum works at the Ministry, at Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. Well, they didn't discover her so quickly, because Dad is a pure-blood. But now some people are starting to realize it, and they are trying to ban her."

Lily gasped. "They can't."

"Now it's not so much of a threat," Hugo said. "But I think more people will discover it soon enough. And… I'm just afraid, Lily. What if they put her through things we hear about the previous Muggle-born chase? What if they lock her up in Azkaban?"

Lily was scared to death about that possibility. She didn't want to seem worried in front of Hugo, because it would make him feel worse than he already was. Instead, she decided to tranquilize him. "That's not going to happen, okay? We'll make sure your Mum is safe. I promise you that."

He nodded, yawning. He lay down again, closing his eyes. "Stay here with me until I fall asleep, will you? Please?"

Lily smiled softly. "Of course."

Even asleep, Hugo didn't let Lily rest. He wasn't as deeply asleep as she thought he was. He seemed to be agonizing, probably having a nightmare. There was so much sweat exuding from his face, Lily had to keep drying it with a towel.

Eventually he calmed down, which Lily was relieved to conclude. She still remained in the room, though.

Ron was amazingly happy when he arrived at The Burrow, at 9 p.m., and found his son talking, smiling and seeming strong. Lily wasn't sure how many times he thanked her, but she stopped counting around the twelfth.

"Lily Potter, have you ever thought about being a shrink when you grow up?" asked Uncle, while Granny set up the fireplace

"You know I will be an Auror, Uncle," Lily reminded him. "Just like you and Dad, remember?"

"And you will do it extremely well," he said proudly.

When Lily approached Hugo to say goodbye, she said, "Remember our deal?"

He smiled. "That we exchange letters constantly, telling everything that's happening, and that we visit each other as much as possible. Yes, I remember."

"Good." She punched his shoulder lightly. "Take care, mate."

"I will. Promise."

They hugged once more, and Hugo and his father disappeared into the fireplace.

Lily hadn't told anyone about what Hugo had told her. She'd rather keep it secret, otherwise Hugo would be in trouble. But she knew that was only the beginning of something way bigger.


	5. Investigations

**Chapter five – Investigations**

The rest of the vacations went on quite calmly, actually.

There were no new movements against Muggles and Muggle-borns. Not that they have published, at least. In fact, what happened on Diagon Alley and at the Dursleys' wasn't brought to public attention. Certainly the minister had prohibited the journalists to promote the cases. But Lily wasn't complaining.

One of these days, the Daily Prophet came up with a catchy headline: _Preservation of magical security._

It finally revealed the new law about the relationship with Muggles, as the wizards from the Ministry had told us days before, at the Dursleys'.

_Informed exclusively by minister Potts, The Daily Prophet comes up with the newest law, as promised to our avid readers. The referred law is about the unacceptable relationship some witches and wizards have with our popular called Muggles. Some of us have this hideous habit to think Muggles are harmless and very similar to us, people with magical blood. Minister Potts believes this has to end. It put us in danger, since Muggles don't seem to accept well our magical abilities and tend to treat us in a unfriendly way, which is an insult to our power and superiority. For this law was created a new department at the Ministry of Magic, which is called Muggle-wizard Relationship Control. The law states that: __**Any wizard or witch who makes contact with a Muggle, which is now considered Magical Criminal Atrocity Class B, will receive a warning. If it happens for a second time, the person will be arrested or led to a hearing if under the age of seventeen.**__  
>The minister agrees that there are times we can't avoid contacting with Muggles. Some of us live in Muggle villages, and to go to Diagon Alley and Platform 9 and ¾ we must pass by non-magical people. So, places like the center of London, King's Cross Station or not entirely magical villages will be excluded from this rule. However, if the employees from Muggle-wizard Relationship Control believe the contact made was unnecessary, the witch or wizard can indeed be sent to Azkaban.<br>The Daily Prophet intensively supports all the decisions made by minister Potts, and believes that all he decides is for the greater good._

Of course the newspaper supported the cause. The Daily Prophet was easily manipulated by the Ministry of Magic. The newspaper used to smear Harry and Albus Dumbledore – the professor who Lily's brother was named after – when Voldemort returned, because the minister at the time, Cornelius Fudge, told the paper to do so.

Indeed, it was very difficult not to contact with Muggles, since Godric's Hollow had a fair amount of them.Lily's visits to her grandparents' statue were now suspended, and, for being underage, she couldn't walk through the village. They couldn't take any risks.

The neighbors, the Thomas, were stuck at home too. Dean Thomas, friend of Harry and Ginny, didn't know if he was half-blood or Muggle-born, because he never met his father. He couldn't prove his heritage. So he was with the same problem as Aunt Hermione. Mr Thomas, too, worked at the Ministry.

Mr Thomas' daughter, Emmeline, with whom Lily shared a dormitory at Hogwarts, was very worried about her father. She often appeared at the Potters' place to ask Lily to help her, and she started to invite Hugo every time Em came by. He helped her a lot, since he knew exactly what she was going through.

Those were, with no doubts, the worst vacations Lily had ever had. Ginny, Harry and James were always out, doing secret business, leaving her alone with Albus. She didn't know what they were doing, but she was sure they were together. And she had the feeling that Albus didn't know everything, but he had a vague idea about what was going on. He refused to tell Lily anything, though.

Since she had to stay at home all day long, Lily was corresponding with Hugo, Roxy and Lucy by letter (and Emmeline by window), and they told her what she expected: that their parents were, too, out every day. Except for Aunt Hermione and Mr Thomas, they went out by sunrise and came back late at night. If they were doing that, Lily was sure the rest of her family, including Teddy, was doing the same. She was very curious to know what they were doing, but she was sure no one would tell any of the kids.

But Lily was doing her own research. She found a way to contact Uncle George and asked him to do her a little favor: if he would take her to work with him for a day. He accepted right away, of course. Although working at Weasley's Wizard Wheezes had been Lily's dream when she was a kid, she had other intentions this time.

She was interested on books, very specific books, about when Voldemort took power. Not that she thought he could go back, but she was wondering what witches and wizards who were against him did when he was controlling the Ministry.

At Diagon Alley, where was located Uncle George's shop, were three types of magical bookstores. Lily was hoping to find any information that she needed to find out what her family was up to. It was worth trying, anyway.

Lily almost couldn't find an opportunity to escape from George's eyes. It was almost like he knew she was up to something. He kept an eye on the costumers and an eye on Lily all the time, which was pretty annoying. So she had to use Plan B.

Right after lunch, arrived at the store lots of boxes of new products Uncle George had ordered. It was the perfect opportunity. He muttered about how he could manage to take care of the store _and _to organize the boxes.

"Uncle George," Lily called.

He almost dropped everything he was carrying. "Blimey, Lily, what's the matter?"

"I was wondering if I could help you with these."

"No way, they are too heavy for you," said uncle, trying to balance the boxes, which were pending to the left. "Harry and Ginny would kill me if they found out I made you carry weight. They would never allow you to come back here again."

"Then let me organize the merch," she suggested. "I haven't done anything useful all day, and you're too busy with the costumers to worry about the boxes."

He looked at her, suspicious, but in the end he gave up. "All right. I'll explain what you have to do."

She followed him to the back of the store. There was where he kept the boxes and new products which weren't available for sale yet. Then he started to put the boxes on the ground. He was doing fine, until…

"Damn!" he shouted, and all the boxes fell with a really loud noise.

Lily controlled herself not to laugh. "Do you want help?"

"No, no, I'm fine," he said, almost sharply. "Ah, for Merlin's sake, I hope nothing is broken." Uncle inspected the content of the boxes carefully and then turned to Lily. "You see, my niece, this material is top secret, because we will only release it next month, and I don't want any competitor to steal the idea. Not that I suspect you or anything. I'm just saying you have to work in silence."

"Got it," Lily said.

George grabbed one of the boxes. "All you have to do is separate the objects on the boxes, where they are mixed." He pointed to an empty shelf "Here you will put the torn off pieces." He pointed to another shelf. "Herewill be the partially finished products." He pointed to the last shelf. "And here, you have to put the products themselves. It's not complicated, is it?"

"Not at all," Lily assured. "I promise I'll do my best."

"I will be at the front if you need me." With a wink, he left the room.

Lily waited a few moments to certificate he was gone and pulled out of her backpack the Invisibility Cloak. She put it on and went to the front of the store.

"Thanks, James," Lily muttered.

It wasn't easy to walk through the store without hitting someone or something. When she finally reached the door, Lily waited until someone entered, passed through the open door and, as soon as she was far enough from the store, she went to a corner and took off the cloak.

Hoping not to find anyone from school, Lily walked through Diagon Alley. She carefully tried to avoid looking at everyone, mostly because she wasn't supposed to leave George's shop. And she was easily recognized.

Lily was conscious that it was very likely she wouldn't find what she was looking for. The options in bookstores were fewer than in old libraries. But she had to try.

Her obvious first stop was Flourish and Botts, the traditional bookstore where she always bought her schoolbooks. She couldn't take long, or George would see she was gone, so she went directly to the old man on the register and asked him, "Do you have any books from 1995 or something around that?"

"You're unlucky, dear," said the old man kindly. "My stock from before 1998 was destroyed."

"Thank you anyway," she said, disappointed.

_It's okay_, Lily said to herself when she was back to the streets. _There are two more stores where I can find something_.'

But unfortunately, neither Obsucurus Books nor Whizz Hard Books seemed to have any copy of such old books.

When she was back at Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, already wearing the Invisibility Cloak, not too much time after she left, Lily thought her plan had been a success. She moved furtively to the back of the store and she was intending to finally start to do what she had told George she was going to do. Until she found him waiting for her there.

Lily had just taken off the cloak when she saw him sitting on one of the boxes, playing with a toy of a witch called Umbridge. Lily froze.

George raised his eyebrows at her. "Lily Luna Potter, what the devil were you doing?"

"I… I was just…"

"Did you genuinely think I wasn't going to come to check if you were really here? I know my relatives, Lily. It's in your blood."

Lily sighed. "Uncle, I'm sorry. I swear I was going to organize the boxes later…"

He put the toy over the shelf, which were empty except for it. "I'm not mad at you, niece. I'm quite _proud_ of you."

Surely she had misheard him. "Proud of me?" Lily repeated. "But, uncle, I left without your permission."

"I used to do this all the time!" he said cheerfully "That's why I have a joke shop, you see."

Lily was relieved. She sat beside him.

George smiled happily. "Now, tell me. What were you doing that no one could know?"

Lily's expression turned serious at once.

"Don't worry," Georde said encouragingly "I won't tell anybody, I swear."

"I can't," Lily said. "You'll probably say this is none of my business, that I shouldn't be doing it."

"Come on, love, I'm your uncle George. When will I tell you _not_ to do something?"

She was pretty sure even George would tell her to stop being nosy. If anyone would want her to know what was going on they would've said it, it was pretty obvious. But Lily told him what she was doing anyway.

As expected, he seemed upset. "Lily, you have to promise me you won't do it again." His voice sounded really serious for Uncle George. "If don't, I'll let Harry and Ginny know what you are doing with the Cloak of Invisibility."

"No!" Lily shouted desperately. "Okay, okay, I'll do my best to keep away. Happy?"

He sighed. "Guess it's the best I will get."

Lily was really sad. Even Uncle George, the world's biggest joker, was telling her to stop looking for answers. Wouldn't it be simpler if they told her what was going on, instead of expecting her not to notice?

George realized what she was thinking, so he passed his arm over her shoulders. "It hurts me more than you, believe me. I love trouble. But from _this_ kind of trouble, dear, you want distance."

Lily nodded, extremely unhappy.

George stood up. "But relax. I'll keep my promise. I won't tell anybody what happened here today. But… Think about what I said, okay?"

When he finally left, Lily started to organize the shelves. Although Uncle George had the best intentions, both he and Lily knew she wasn't going to give up so quickly. She couldn't handle being on the dark. She wouldn't lose her hopes, until she checked the largest bookstore she knew. Which was located in a place Lily would visit in a few weeks.


	6. Unexpected meeting

**Chapter six – Unexpected meeting**

The morning of September 1st arrived sudden and unexpectedly, getting everyone by surprise. Ginny, Harry and James were being so busy lately that they completely forgot about Lily and Albus, and had a confidential appointment settled for the day of the beginning of the school year. Harry had spent the departure's eve trying to cancel whatever they were planning to do. He wasn't entirely successful, but he managed to delay the appointment to past eleven.

Lily gave up on trying to extract information from her family. Feeding her hopes on checking the entire Hogwarts library, she acted like nothing was happening and like she wasn't interested at all. It was working.

Early in the morning, the Potters traveled to London with Harry's Muggle car, which they hadn't used since the visit to Dursleys'. Lily couldn't wait to get to King's Cross and board the Hogwarts Express. She missed Hogwarts and her friends.

"So," said Ginny. "Lily and Albus are about to enter important phases of their magical education."

"Tell me about it," said Albus, reading The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 7). "I'm already freaking out, and the school year hasn't even started yet."

"I remember when I took my NEWTs," said James, smiling. "They were bloody difficult, 'course, but I think the OWLs were worse for me."

"Really?" Lily asked, surprised. "Why?"

"Because it's all new for the fifth years," said James. "I mean, new methods, more homework than you can handle, all the extra-study hours, almost no sleep, the emotional overload, and of course the exams themselves. I think for seventh years the thing is a little easier, because they already got through everything before. They will just have to face it again, in a more difficult way. And with more pressure. But NEWTs are enough to freak everyone out, too."

Lily felt a little nauseous after that. She was already nervous with the expectation of taking her OWLs that year, a very important thing for her future career. She wanted to be an Auror when she grew up, and she had very good grades at school, but the pressure for getting excellent grades at the OWLs was way bigger. Lily had to compete against James and Albus, who were really successful on their OWLs. And to be an Auror she had to have impeccable grades.

"Stop freaking them out, James," Ginny scolded. "Don't worry, sweeties, we have complete faith in you."

"Yes, we do," Harry confirmed.

"Well, you know, they'll love you as long as you're as successful on your exams as the _genius _here was," James said with a smirk. "Otherwise, they'll disown you. It'll be difficult to top me, though."

Albus sighed exasperatedly. "Can you _please_ stop flattering yourself for two seconds so I can read this?"

Lily elbowed James in the ribs. "Why are you even here, anyway? Just to annoy us as usual?"

James messed up his siblings' hairs. "To see my little kids off, obviously. It's the first time we won't be going to Hogwarts together. I'll miss you, little guys!"

"Yeah, yeah, of course you will," Lily said sarcastically.

Albus grabbed another schoolbook, trying to read about Gramp's Law of Elemental Transfiguration, but the car was now passing on a street full of holes, which meant he couldn't even hold the book properly.

"Dad!" Albus complained. "I'm trying to study here!"

Harry tried not to laugh. "I'm sorry, son, but I can't stop to fix the street."

"Sweetie, the car is not an appropriate place to study," said Ginny gently. "You'll get plenty of time to do so at Hogwarts."

"No, I won't!" Albus insisted. "I'll _barely _have _any _time _at all_ to study. You know that."

Lily shook her head. "Al, you got eleven OWLs on your fifth year. Could you please stop worrying so much? I'm sure you will get only Outstandings on your NEWTs."

"Don't be ridiculous, how can I _not_ worry?" he asked, the book jumping out of his hands while the car got to the middle of the holey street. "Oh, Merlin's beard, I'll fail in everything! I'll get a bunch of Trolls, I'm sure of it!"

Lily didn't bother to remind him he had said the exact same thing about his OWLs.

Albus didn't let go of his schoolbooks all the way to London. Traveling between him and James was quite annoying to Lily, because Albus kept muttering to himself lots of dates of memorable magical events, and James kept saying about how horrible the fifth year was.

When Harry finally parked the car in front of King's Cross station, at 10:50 a.m., Lily felt relieved. She helped Harry with her trunk and went to the station without her brothers. She was waiting between platforms nine and ten when they arrived, already in possession of the tickets.

Ginny and Harry held hands and ran to the barrier first. Then James, then Albus, then Lily.

With a smile, Lily observed the amount of wizards and witches, parents and children, and of course the always beautiful Hogwarts Express. The atmosphere was warm and comforting.

"Oi, you, red-headed!" someone called out at her.

Lily turned around and laughed when she noticed who had spoken. "You're one to talk."

Hugo smiled. He had already gotten rid of his trunk, and was now getting Lily's from her hands like a gentleman. Rose came to Albus running, and both of them started to talk about the NEWTs. Lily preferred to stay away from them. A little behind was Uncle Ron. This time, he was unaccompanied.

Hugo sighed. "Mum wanted to come see us depart, but Dad didn't let her. It was too risky, you know?"

Lily nodded. "Her safety comes first."

Ron found Harry and Ginny, who were in company of Uncle George and Aunt Angelina, and Uncle Percy and Aunt Audrey. That meant that all Lily's cousins in Hogwarts ages were there somewhere.

Lily waved to Lorcan and Lysander Scamander, who she knew because of the friendship between her parents and theirs. She said hello to Emmeline too, and her family, lovable people. She saw Phillip Finnigan talking to Emmeline; he was the son of Mr. Thomas' best friend.

Indeed, Lily greeted a fair lot of people. The excitement of going back to Hogwarts made her almost forget about the one person she had been expecting to see: Scorpius Malfoy.

It wasn't difficult to find his blonde head among the people. He was there with his mother and father, looking randomly to where Lily was. She started to smile at him, but when his eyes met hers, he hurried to turn his back to her and push his parents to the opposite direction.

The smile vanished from Lily's face before it came entirely out. She kept looking at his back until he joined the crowd and disappeared. Lily's feet were glued to the platform's ground, and she just couldn't feel cheerful anymore.

"Hey, can we please go inside?" asked Hugo, apparently unaware about what had just happened. "Bloody hell, what do you carry in this?" he added, trying to carry Lily's trunk.

She said goodbye vaguely to her parents and her brother and followed Hugo inside the Hogwarts Express.

"Roxy is making sure no one gets our compartment," said Hugo. "Uncle George had an appointment here in London early, and he brought her and Fred, so they arrived at the platform when there was just a couple of people. She got us a very good compartment this time, at the beginning of the train. I personally– Hey, are you okay?"

Lily presumed she was still looking like someone who had just been punched on the face. She looked up at him, startled. "Oh." She faked a smile. "Yeah, sure."

Hugo stared at her, unconvinced, but Lily looked away from him, showing she wasn't going to talk about it. She was just too sad. She had been waiting to meet Scorpius for so long… and he'd blatantly ignored her.

The compartment they got was indeed very good. It was spacious, clean, and they didn't have to walk much. The train was huge, and every year their group got the last compartments. This year was different.

Roxy and Lucy were waiting for us. It was quite funny that they were best friends, because they had completely different personalities. Roxy, being raised by Uncle George, was a joker, while Lucy, whose father was serious Uncle Percy, was a skeptic. Still, they were inseparable.

"Oh, well, finally!" said Roxy. "What were you two waiting for, the train to depart?"

"Hello for you too, cousin," said Hugo, laughing.

Lily sat beside the window, while she observed the platform. People were hurrying their children to get inside the train, or talking with them for last recommendations. Ginny, Harry and James had already gone. That confidential appointment supposedly was very important.

She was aware that Hugo was still staring at her. She sighed, shooting him a sad look. He frowned, looking worried, but he gladly didn't push her.

The train began slowly to move. Lily looked at her watch. Precisely eleven o'clock. All that excitement she was feeling had completely vanished. Bloody Scorpius and his bloody moody behavior. She could barely keep track of the conversation.

"–and dad grounded me," Roxy was saying. She sounded incredulous. "I can't go to the first Hogsmeade visit of the year. That fowl, evil git."

"Stop saying this about your father!" said Lucy, horrified. "He was completely right! Poor Fred! On his birthday, Roxy?"

"Did you listen to anything I said?" asked Roxy. "He put Puking Pastilles on my morning juice _on my birthday_! And he 'forgot' where he had put the purple side of the pastille. I kept vomiting for half an hour, until dad went to his store and got one for me. But _Fred _didn't get any punishment for it. I did!"

"Yeah, I agree he was an idiot," Lucy said, "but putting adulterated Ten-Second Pimple Vanisher on his Butterbeer? That's so mean! It's way worse than what he did to you!"

"He deserved it," insisted Roxy. "Anyway, I did a powerful job, it was very difficult to dad to find an antidote. He spent the whole day trying to make the acnes to stop plopping all over my brother's face. But he made it disappear. See, Fred was lucky in the end. There are only a few marks on his face. He can easily look like he has been fighting with his owl. Billie is a little violent. It's a plausible excuse."

Lucy stared Roxy, in shock, shaking her head.

Hugo, though, didn't seem really interested on the full story at all. "How did you manage to adulterate the Pimple Vanisher?" he asked curiously.

Roxy smiled mischievously. "I'm glad you asked, my pupil. See, I just…" And she went on explaining. The way she sounded cheerful whenever she told her cousins about a prank was funny.

At this point of the conversation, Lily couldn't see Platform 9 and ¾ anymore. The train gained velocity. She wasn't paying attention to her cousins' talk, and it seemed like a mere background noise.

Someone knocked on the door of the compartment. Lily was only vaguely aware of it, but she didn't give it much importance. Until…

"Ah, Lily?" Lucy said. "There's someone here who wants to talk to you."

Lily closed her eyes, sighing in frustration. She wasn't ready for this. She looked at the corridor. Indeed, there he was. Scorpius Malfoy.

And did he look _handsome_. He was smiling at her, which was a surprise. He had definitely grown taller, and he his blond hair, which had always been longer and shaggier, was now carefully cut. He looked so much like his father, it was terrifying. At least he didn't lose the gentle expression.

Lily's heart did a somersault. Looking at him hurt. A lot.

She felt everyone's eyes on her. Her cousins knew about her fancying Scorpius. Lily's face would normally light up at the sight of him. They realized something was wrong.

"Lils," said Hugo. "Do you want us to tell him to leave?"

Lily smiled at him gladly. "Thanks. I can handle it."

She breathed, then got the courage to open the door of the compartment.

Scorpius smiled more widely. "Hey! I asked Albus where your compartment was. Long time no see! I missed you!"

Lily gave him a pained smile. She wasn't really short, but she stood small in front of him. "Missed you too. Your hair looks different."

He ran his hands through his hair instinctively. Lily could tell the observation made him uneasy, but she wasn't sure why. "Yeah, well… just changing things a bit."

She was aware that Roxy, Lucy and Hugo were paying attention to them, even if they tried to pretend they weren't, and it made her uncomfortable.

"What's wrong?" Scorpius asked suddenly, his smile fading.

Lily sighed. He really did know her. There was no point in hiding it. She wanted things clarified. "I saw you at the platform. You turned away as if you didn't know me."

Scorpius looked stunned for a moment, then he smiled and suddenly grabbed Lily for a hug. Lily went red to her scalp, frozen for a moment before returning the hug. He gave the best hugs. She had missed his hug so much. It melted her.

"I didn't do that on purpose, Lily, I swear," Scorpius said, still wrapped in the hug. "Sorry I made you think I ignored you. I didn't. I promise."

Lily nodded. She didn't really believe him, since she _saw _he'd looked right at her. But maybe he had a motive. And he seemed really sorry. She decided to let it pass. Besides… if he hugged her like that a minute longer, she would pass out.

Scorpius finally let go, still smiling. "So, is it too late to give you your birthday present?"

Lily laughed. "Never too late."

Scorpius gave her a triumphant smile. "Accio!" he ordered.

From the back of the train to Scorpius' hands, came a broomstick. But it wasn't just an ordinary broomstick. It was a Firebolt 5000, the newest and fastest model yet. To Lily's utter surprise, Scorpius put the broomstick on her hands.

Lily stared from the broom to Scorpius, incredulous. "Is this…" Her voice cracked "Is this… for _me_?"

Scorpius nodded, amused by her surprise. "Yep. All yours."

"Scorpius, you must be joking! This is _the_ most expensive broom in history of brooms. You can't give me this."

"Of course I can, and I just did." He laughed as Lily tried to give the broomstick back. "I bought it, so I can do anything I want with it."

"No, I won't accept it," Lily said firmly.

"Oh, yes, you will!" Scorpius insisted. "You accept the broom or I'll break it."

Lily looked horrified. "That's not fair!"

Scorpius roared with laughter. "Life isn't fair, is it?"

Lily frowned. She thought she had spotted resentment on his voice, under that big laugh. But it could be her imagination, because he smiled again.

They talked about their vacations. Lily hadn't forgotten how endearing he was, of course, but the talk brought the memories back. She wasn't sad anymore. He really did seem eager to talk to her.

When the food trolley approached, Scorpius and Lily had to leave the corridor, because they were obstructing it. That was when they finally went back to they compartments. They hugged each other goodbye, making Lily stupidly happy. She was beaming when she got back to her cousins.

"Someone's on the clouds," Roxy teased.

Lily wasn't bothered by the comment. She sighed dreamily. "I sure am."

"Oh, look, Lily, I got your father again," said Lucy, when opening her Chocolate Frog.

"Great!" Lily exclaimed. She was eating her Every Flavour Beans package, and still had a smile on her face. "Boggey flavour!" she said happily, swallowing the bean.

"You must be really happy, for celebrating over a boggey-flavoured bean," laughed Hugo, examining her new broomstick. "Blimey, this guy must be _really_ rich. No one I know has money to buy half of this broom."

"You can call him by his name, thank you," Lily said. "He's indeed really rich, but I'm not his friend because of his money."

"You're more than just friends," grumbled Hugo.

"Well, even if I'm not, _he's _just friends," Lily told him.

"Is he, really? Doesn't seem like it."

"You guys, calm down," Lucy pleaded.

Lily nodded. It wasn't worth starting a fight with Hugo when he was like that. He was a very protective best friend, so he didn't approve Scorpius, it was no secret.

Roxy nudged Lily. "Now that you're so happy, can you tell us why you were gloomy when you got here?"

Her cousins really knew her well. Lily didn't want to talk about it, but they cared so much she decided to clarify things. She told them about Scorpius ignoring her at Platform 9 and ¾.

"Are you sure he ignored you?" asked Lucy.

Lily nodded. "He looked right at me, then ran away. But… I think something's going on with him, which would explain why he did it. I'm hoping he'll tell me eventually what is actually happening."

Lucy smiled at her. "I'm sure he'll tell you."

Lily stared at the window. All the excitement had come back. _We're going back to Hogwarts_, she thought happily.


	7. Hogwarts is still the same

**Chapter seven – Hogwarts is still the same**

The very first sight of the castle made Lily feel really happy, but suddenly calm as well. She had always considered Hogwarts a place totally deprived of any kind of danger – if you don't count Quidditch –, and the wondrous castle was her second home. The arrival meant not only joining her mates, but leaving behind all things that had made her worried during the summer and entering her safe zone.

While Lucy went to the Hufflepuff table, Lily, Hugo and Roxy joined their mates at the Gryffindor table.

Since the arrival of the new minister, she had been thinking if she would find the same Hogwarts she had left on June. Being such a dictator, certainly Potts would love to control Hogwarts. But when she took a peek at their table, she soon realized that all old employees were there. However, the only one who was missing was the headmaster, Prof. Towler, a sweet and old man. The chair was vacant and Lily couldn't help wondering where he had gone.

Another chair was vacant, and it was Profª. Rackham's, who taught Charms and was the deputy headmistress. But she soon arrived, followed by a line of first years about to get sorted.

Lily barely heard the Sorting Hat's song, and she politely clapped every time a little boy or girl was sorted into Gryffindor and other houses. The headmaster's chair remained vacant during the entire sorting, and even after the wonderful feast Prof. Towler hadn't shown up.

As the students ate all the desserts and the tables were emptied, the staff and the students couldn't ignore Prof. Towler's absence anymore.

Profª. Rackham rose from her chair. She cleared her throat. "I'm afraid our headmaster–"

"Yes, I'm late."

The voice came from the Great Hall's doors. But it didn't belong to Prof. Towler. It was easy to notice, because the voice was very deep, nothing like the old headmaster's. In fact, the wizard who was standing by the door was younger than him, and his dark skin was a real contrast on Prof Towler's paleness.

The man standing by the door was Kingsley Shacklebolt, the previous Minister of Magic.

"There was no time for a proper warning," said Kingsley, walking with dignity to where Profª. Rackham was standing. "I'm afraid Prof. Towler had to retire unexpectedly, due to health problems, since he is not as young as he once was. This was just before the start of the year, so they had to find a new headmaster in a hurry. And I was there, ready. I had just gotten back as the Head of Auror Office and the professor asked me if I would like to be the head of Hogwarts instead, and I accepted immediately."

There was a pause, and first the silence took place, but then everyone started whispering and murmuring, until Kingsley said, "Silence." When he talked it was hard not to pay attention.

"Now," said the new headmaster. "Before you can even begin, I won't tell publicly why I was succeeded by William Potts as minister, and don't even bother to ask."

Mutters filled the room. This was exactly everybody's interest. But the students did as they were told and didn't ask. Kingsley, now Prof. Schacklebolt, had certain control over people, and this started way before his mandate as minister.

"I know that being introduced to a new headmaster so suddenly must be very confusing," said Kingsley. "But I'm afraid I have to keep going with my warnings." And then his tone changed drastically. His deep voice gained a new, warmer tone, much more like the way Prof. Towler usually spoke. "Welcome, students, welcome to Hogwarts! Welcome, new students, and I hope our older guests willingly receive our first years and make them feel at home. And welcome to the ones who have been with us the longest! I'm not the one to say this, of course, since I'm the castle's newest member. But I'll do my best." He took a piece of parchment of his robes. "Our caretaker, Mr Shepherd, informs that any joke product–"

And then he proceeded with the habitual warnings the old students were tired of listening to. Lily now started to think whether to ask or not Kingsley about the Ministry and the minister. Because, even though Kingsley was an old friend of Harry's, he was now Lily's headmaster, Prof. Shacklebolt, therefore she couldn't treat him like a simple colleague of her father.

"Now, off to bed!"

That was when Lily finally woke up from her thoughts. Lucy, who was named as a prefect for Hufflepuff, waved at her cousins before she set off to help was now the first years to go to the dormitories. Lily, Hugo and Roxy went to the Gryffindor Tower.

"Did you two know?" Lily asked the two, when the staircase began to move. "That Kingsley would be headmaster?"

"Of course not," said Hugo. "I think it was unexpected for everybody. Our letters came with Towler's name on them, didn't they?"

"It's really weird, though, isn't it?" Roxy said. "He said he had just gotten back as Head of Auror Office, and then Towler asked him to be headmaster. I get it that Kingsley is always the best choice for everything, but would he just leave the Auror Office just to come here?"

"He's great, but everyone has to retire at some point," Hugo said. "He isn't as young as he used to be, is he?"

"I heard him say to my dad he loved to be minister, but that he would rather take care of a smaller post," Lily said, remembering Kingsley's last visit, just before her birthday. "Dad took on the Head of the office then."

"It's not the point," Roxy observed. "Even if he needed to retire, I doubt it that Kingsley would concede his post to a man like Potts."

"She's right," said Hugo. "Kingsley is totally against dictatorship."

Lily frowned. "This smells like a scheme."

They arrived to the painting of The Fat Lady, who smiled cheerfully at them.

"Iunctus amicitia," said Hugo to the painting. Then, to his cousins: "Why always Latin?"

"You shall pass," said The Fat Lady gently, and the painting twisted, revealing the comforting Gryffindor's common room.

Lily, Hugo and Roxy down on their favorite sofa, in front of the fireplace, observing as the other students arrived.

"Do you guys know what post Potts used to occupy before being minister?" Lily asked. She was trying hard to understand this.

"Dad told me he was the head of the Magical Maintenance Department," said Hugo.

"Well, it's not like an important area, is it?" said Roxy. "Not as important as the Department of Magical Law Enforcement at least, where is located the Auror Office."

All that was making Lily more frustrated than when she first learned about minister Potts taking Kingsley's post. Their conversation was leading them to nothing, and they were as close to figure something out as Lily was close to find any information about the secrets her family was keeping from her. Therefore, they had no clue about anything.

They decided not to go further on the subject. The common room was starting to get empty. Hugo said goodbye to Lily and Roxy and they went to their respective dormitories.

Emmeline and their other roommates, Helena Comstock and Hera Forbisher, were already there. They greeted each other politely and went to bed.

Lily's head was bubbling with thoughts as she tried to sleep. There was so much going on and no way to explain them. At least, she was back at the castle. It would make things better.

Emmeline, Helena and Hera were early to rise, so they went to breakfast before Lily and Roxy.

The two cousins arrived at the Great Hall, in a hurry, when hundreds of owls came for the habitual every-morning post. Lily couldn't find Hedwig II among the owls, and being totally white and easily visible, Lily knew she hadn't gotten any letters.

Prof. Longbottom, a friend of the family, Herbology teacher and Head of Gryffindor house, was handing out the timetables.

"Today isn't bad," Lily said, examining the schedule. "Except for History of Magic in the beginning of the day. Then double Defence Against the Dark Arts, Ancient Runes and double Potions. At least we have all classes with Hufflepuff, so we'll get to see Lucy."

"I should've quit Divination," said Hugo. "But I don't think I would do well on Ancient Runes."

"Same" said Roxy. "At least we don't need to translate a messed-up language to proper English."

"I like Runes," Lily said. "It's not bad, just tricky. Besides, I still prefer to translate Runes than to 'learn' Divination, which is, in my opinion, a plenty waste of time."

In that very moment, the Gryffindor Quidditch Captain, Eldon Dobbs, a tall sixth year, came running to Lily.

"Potter, the one I was looking for," he said with a smile. "Hello too, Weasley," he added to Roxy, another team mate. "Too bad when I heard about your injury."

"Yeah," said Roxy bitterly. "You don't feel as bad as I do."

Roxy used to be part of the Quidditch team as a Beater until last year, when she got a bludger on her left arm and had an almost permanent contusion. Her Healer said she couldn't play Quidditch for a long time. She was really sad about it.

Dobbs looked at her in an apologizing way and turned back to Lily. "So Potter, since Warmsley and Starky graduated, and the thing with Weasley, we don't have a Keeper, a Chaser and a Beater. I'm doing the trials on Saturday at nine a.m., and it would be really nice if you and the rest of the team helped me."

"Sure," Lily said. "No problem. I'll be there."

Dobbs smiled. "You're the best, Potter. Tell your friends to apply." With that, he walked away.

Hugo turned to Lily. "What do you think, Lils? Do you think I would be a good keeper?"

Lily, who had been drinking a glass of Pumpkin Juice, coughed. She stared at him, incredulous. "I have tried to persuade you to take trials to enter the team since I was chosen as a Chaser on third year. And _now _you decide to listen to me?"

He shrugged. "I just wasn't confident enough at the time, that's all. Now I think I can be as good as my dad."

Emmeline Thomas, who was sitting beside them, unexpectedly joined the conversation. "I've always found you a great Quidditch player, Hugo. You should try."

Hugo's entire face went red. He stammered, "T–thanks."

With a smile, Emmeline left the table with Helena and Hera.

Roxy nudged Hugo. "Emmeline, huh?"

Hugo pushed her shoulder. "Shut up."

"Dobbs and the team would like you to watch the trials, Roxy," Lily spoke up. "Although you don't play anymore, you're still part of the team."

"I'll think about it," she said. "It would be too painful to watch it, knowing that I can't play. But I'll do my best to go."

Lily, Hugo and Roxy continued talking about Quidditch until they arrived at History of Magic. Lucy had found them sits at the back of the classroom. She waved at them.

Prof. Binns, the only ghost teacher at Hogwarts, had been teaching for ages, and even dead he didn't abandon the school. He was so boring that no one could resist him talking with no pause. Lily usually turned to Albus's notes, which he always kept in his trunk, goodness knew why. He didn't always give them out willingly, but he seemed too happy that people found him intelligent enough to get his notes.

The four of them spent the whole class drawing on Hugo's books. Roxy was the most creative: one of her best drawings was the one where she drew Hugo falling off his broom during the Quidditch trials and Emmeline Thomas coming running to him and shouting: _You're the best Quidditch player on earth, Hugo Weasley, and I'm totally in love with you!_

Next was Defence Against the Dark Arts class. The DADA teacher, Prof. Horton, was the head of Slytherin house, therefore hard to impress. But he was a great teacher, and always had done well on his subject.

Prof. Horton went on with Defensive Spells. The first one was Protego. He told the students about the theory, gave a demonstration and let the rest of the next hour and a half to the students to practice. The class was fun, and in the end of it most students were doing Protego perfectly. They were really happy. But then…

"Homework," said Prof. Horton. "I want ten inches of parchment about five Defensive Spells and its uses for Friday."

Still cursing on Horton, the students left the classroom and went to the Great Hall for lunch.

"Omevor!" complained Hugo while filling his mouth with chicken. "Nn ve rest bleu fo lassys!"

"Hugo, we can't understand a word," said Lily, repulsed. "Swallow the food on your mouth and then talk to us."

But Hugo was more interested on lunch than on talking, so he just kept eating.

"The fifth years shouldn't be complaining about homework," said Hera Forbisher seriously. "I suppose we will receive a lot of it this year. It's our OWLs that we talking about!"

Her thoughts proved to be right sooner than they expected. When Lily met up with Lucy at Ancient Runes, Profª. Fleet made them translate three pages of Runes to English due Thursday, and Hugo and Roxy had gotten a fair lot of Divination homework as well.

When they arrived at the Potions classroom, they weren't expecting anything different. Prof. Malone, head of Ravenclaw house, was very strict and personally loved homeworks. This year, Lily was pretty sure he would be delighted on making everyone really busy.

Lily always sat with Hugo during class, but Prof. Malone had different ideas that day. He himself chose the pairings. Lily ended up with Phillip Finnigan, which was fine by her. He was a sweetheart, and very good at Potions.

"Today we are brewing the Strengthening Solution," said the professor. "It's a complicated potion which takes days to be prepared. The Ministry don't usually approves that Potions Masters teach this solution, but I'm sure Prof. Shacklebolt won't mind. You will find the ingredients in the store cupboard and the instructions on page 283 of your books. Begin."

Lily and Phil did well. By the end of the class, the two potions were turquoise, just like they were supposed to. The only ones who got the same results were Lucy and Hera.

"Now I want an essay about this solution," said Prof. Malone. "Thursday. And I want at least a hundred words."

After saying goodbye to Phil as he reunited with best friend Emmeline, Lily found Hugo, Roxy and Lucy a little farther and kept up with them.

"We are full of homework already," Hugo was complaining.

"It will be like this the whole year," said Lucy.

They went directly to the Great Hall for dinner. Malone had held them after class because of the Strengthening Solution and they arrived in the right moment of the beginning of the feast.

Everyone was entertained with their food, but they all paid attention when a single owl in the middle of the meal. It wasn't common for owls to arrive out of schedule, so it meant something had happened. And, to their worries, they recognized the owl. It was Hugo's Levi.

"What is he doing here?" asked Hugo.

Everybody's attention was on Levi's landing in front of Hugo. He got the package tied to his owl's leg and unwrapped it. It seemed to be a non-official copy of the Daily Prophet and a letter.

Rose, Hugo's sister, who had seen Levi, came from the Ravenclaw table and grabbed the letter, while Hugo got the newspaper.

"_Dear Rose and Hugo_," Rose read it aloud. "_This is what will be on the newspapers tomorrow, got it with your aunt Ginny. Can't say more details in here, but I'll stay in contact. Dad. _That's weird. What does it say on the news, Hugo? Hugo?"

They all looked at Hugo. He was staring at the newspaper, seeming to be in shock. All the color of his face had disappeared. It reminded Lily of when he was having that nervous breakdown on summer. She tried not to panic, but she thought I knew what had happened. She hoped she was wrong. Lily grabbed the newspaper from his hands and took a look at the headline.

_Wizards and witches with the purity of their bloods in doubt will be obligated to be under questioning._

Their biggest fear had turned into reality: minister Potts had just created a new law against Muggle-borns.


	8. Under pressure

**Chapter eight – Under pressure**

Hugo was so pale Lily thought he was going to pass out. Albus, who had approached just in time, grabbed Rose's arm when her knees failed her and she almost fell.

"Come on," Lily said bracingly, getting up and grabbing Hugo's shoulder. "Let's go outside. Al, a little help?"

Albus got Rose, Lily got Hugo, and the four of them left the silent Great Hall. Everyone was staring.

Once outside, Albus and Lily sat Rose and Hugo on a step from the first staircase they could find. Both Rose and Hugo were trembling and unable to say anything. Lily herself was shaking. She and Albus exchanged worried looks.

"Do you have the rest of the news?" asked Albus, panting.

Lily, who had forgotten she was still holding the newspaper, got it and read it.

_As informed on previous edition of The Daily Prophet, minister Potts is serious with his ambition of protecting our kind from Muggles and their threats against us, privileged people with magical blood. He, too, is worried about Muggle-borns, who are likely to offer much more danger than Muggles themselves. According to previous research, initiated before by Pius Thicknesse, it's only possible to a witch or wizard be born with magical abilities if there's at least one person in the family with referred powers. Minister Potts concluded that Muggle-borns have obtained their magic stealing it from a witch or wizard. Therefore, the minister has stated another new law. __**Witches and wizards who were born in a family deprived of magical blood in their veins, or that can't prove otherwise, must go the Ministry of Magic for questioning. Only then the executers will come to a decision. Those who don't appear for the referred hearing, will be sent directly to Azkaban.  
><strong>__The Ministry of Magic will contact all the Muggle-borns above the age of eleven, sending to them details about their hearings by owl-post. Those who are interested on informing us about potentially dangerous Muggle-borns who can't wait for a letter from the Ministry, must contact The Daily Prophet immediately. It's our safety that is under risk._

Lily could barely contain her anger at the end of the reading. "This is outrageous," she whispered, trying to fold the newspaper, but her hands were shaking severely.

Albus got the paper from my hands and put it in his pocket. "Aunt Hermione will be one of the first Muggle-borns to be questioned," he said in his sister's ear, so Hugo and Rose wouldn't hear. "She works at the Ministry."

That perspective was really scary.

"I say we go to Kingsley's office," Lily suggested. "He's not at the staff table. Maybe he knows about it already."

People were starting to get out of the Great Hall. Everyone who passed by looked curiously at the four of them, whispering and trying to know what was going on.

Lily and Albus grabbed their cousins and led them to the headmaster's office. Before Lily could even think about how they were going to get in if they didn't know the password, the staircase moved and Kingsley went outside.

"I was already expecting you," he said. "Come in."

Kingsley hadn't redecorated Prof. Towler's office. It was exactly how Lily remembered. She had gone there just last year, with Roxy and Hugo, when they pulled a prank on a bully who had called Hera Frobisher a Mudblood. It was an irony that she was there because of a Muggle-born again.

The new headmaster sat down behind his desk and, with a wand wave, four more chairs appeared before them. Albus and Lily sat Rose and Hugo and then sat down themselves.

"I am aware about the Muggle-born Questioning," said Kingsley calmly. "I'm afraid I'm evacuating all Muggle-borns and children of Muggle-borns from the school tonight." He glanced at Rose and Hugo. "I already contacted the Ministry, and they, too willingly, allowed me to make as many Port Keys as I wanted to send the kids to their families.

He opened the first drawer of his desk and got two glasses of potion, which I recognized as Calming Draughts, giving them to Rose and Hugo, still petrified.

"You don't need to worry," said Kingsley to Lily and Albus. "I'll send them home as soon as they finish the glasses of potion."

But the Potters were far from calm.  
>"Sir," Lily said, "what will happen to the Muggle-borns in that questioning?"<p>

"I have absolutely no idea, child," said Kingsley thoughtfully. "But I don't think they will be sent to Azkaban, unless if they don't appear for the hearing."  
>"Are the children of Muggle-borns in danger?" Lily asked.<p>

"Not immediate danger," said Kingsley, "but I suppose they can become targets if their parents don't appear for the hearing. Same goes to parents if they don't send their children for questioning, I believe."

Lily felt so angry. It was simply ridiculous. She imagined eleven-year-olds sitting on a chair being questioned about how they had managed to steal someone's power.

"Sir, they don't actually believe that Muggle-borns are able to steal magic from someone else, do they?" asked Albus.

Kingsley sighed. "That theory was already proved wrong," he said. "Twenty-five years ago they came up with the same excuse to start haunting Muggle-borns. But we can't just confront the entire Ministry directly."  
>"But surely there are some Ministry people who don't agree with this!" Lily said desperately.<p>

"Well, there are," Kingsley said, "but it's not enough, child. It's just not enough."

Lily could see Kingsley was trying not to show his anger about all that. She wanted to ask him why Potts had taken his post, because Kingsley surely wouldn't let this happen if he was still minister.

"Now, you two go _directly_ to your common room," said Kingsley. "Don't talk to anyone except your family about this. Mr and Miss Weasley will be sent home in a minute. Then I'll call the other children. Go."

They couldn't disobey. With one last look to their cousins, Albus and Lily went to Gryffindor Tower. They didn't speak. There was nothing they wanted to talk about.

When they arrived at the portrait of The Fat Lady, she immediately asked, "What happened to the Weasleys? Everyone is talking about it. The Gryffindors are so anxious in there."

"Great," Lily said. They were going to face an interrogation as soon as they stepped into the common room.

"Iunctus amicitia," said Albus firmly to The Fat Lady.

"All right, if you don't want to tell me," she said, upset. "I suppose I'm not important enough to know about anything." And then she let them enter.

As expected, they suddenly were surrounded by their fellow Gryffindors, who surely were just waiting for them to know what happened.

"Look, we don't want to talk about this, okay?" said Albus to them. "And even if we did, we can't. Prof. Shacklebolt said that we had to keep our mouths shut."

The crowd gradually diffused, muttering angrily to each other.

Albus put his hand over his sister's shoulder. "I talk to Fred and Molly. You talk to Roxy and Lucy."

"Deal," Lily said and went up to the dormitory.

Roxy was waiting for her.

"Oh, thank Merlin," she said when Lily sat down beside her. "Emmeline, Helena and Hera didn't come back to the dormitory yet."

"And they won't," Lily said. "They must be going home by now."

"Home?" Roxy was incredulous. "What happened?"

I gave her the newspaper, and then told her that Rose and Hugo were going home and what Kingsley had told her and Albus at his office.

"Emme's father is one of those who 'can't prove otherwise', isn't he?" asked Roxy. "Helena's parents are both Muggle-borns. And Hera… she's a Muggle-born herself. Hugo and Rose, oh man, they must be a pile of nerves." She shook her head. "21st century and there are still people who discriminate non-pure-bloods."

Lily couldn't stop thinking about how disgusting it was, having to be under questioning just because your family wasn't magical. "Does it matter if a person is Muggle-born, half-blood, pure-blood, or even completely Muggle? No, it doesn't. Your blood doesn't make who you are. Your choices do. Your qualities, your flaws even, your abilities, your character do. We are all people, aren't we?"

Roxy put a hand on Lily's shoulder. "I hate this so much. I hope everyone's all right."

Lily and Roxy knew they had homework to do, but they also knew they wouldn't be able to concentrate. It wasn't easy to sleep either. Lily barely closed her eyes all night and, when she did, she kept imagining Hugo's and Rose's worried faces.

When Lily woke up the next morning, she was a mess. She and Roxy joined the rest of our family at the Great Hall, all of them worried and with shadows under their eyes. No one sat with their houses that day.

The school seemed to be emptier than usual. With all the Muggle-borns and children of Muggle-borns at home, it made everything less crowded and less noisy, which was really odd. They were so used to the quantity of people that it felt really uncomfortable. The atmosphere wasn't helping either. People were getting their copies of the Daily Prophet, and they all were talking about the Muggle-born Questioning.

Among the other hundred owls, Lily spotted Levi, and a moment after he was landing before her. Lily got the letter tied to the owl's leg, her hands shaking, and she recognized Hugo's handwriting.

She read it aloud to the rest of the family. "_Hi, guys. It was all very sudden, so I thought you deserved news. Rose and I are okay, Mum and Dad as well. Mum isn't working now, and she has to stay at home. Rose and I can't leave the house either, because Mum and Dad are afraid of what the Ministry people might do to us to get Mum. Her hearing was set to Friday morning. You see, the executers say people from Hogwarts are the ultimate primacy, so the hearings that will take place this week are only for us. We won't be going back to Hogwarts until then. As far as I know, no Muggle-born has suffered anything yet, which is good. Hope you guys are fine. I might see you all next Saturday afternoon, when everyone is coming back. Hugo._"

"Oh, poor thing," said Roxy. "He's gonna miss the Quidditch trials."

With everything that was going on, Lily had almost forgotten about the trials, but once Roxy remembered, she felt bad for Hugo. It was the first time he was going to try to be a keeper and he wasn't going to make it.

"Wait up, Levi," Lily said to Hugo's owl. "I want to write back."

She grabbed a piece of parchment. Hugo didn't tell it on the letter, but Lily knew he was really nervous about his mother's hearing. She thought it would be nice for him to read kind words.

_Dear Hugo_, Lily wrote, w_e are all very relieved you took time to write to us. We got so worried last night, and now we are more relaxed. Too bad you're going to be off for such a long time. You and Rose must be very worried about your mother, and I'd like to tell you, in name of the entire Weasley/Potter family, that our hearts are with you. And that we want to be warned if anything happens! Everything will be fine, I promise. Love from Lily._

Once Lily had had news from Hugo, the rest of the day was fine. Though she missed him, of course. The Muggle Studies class was real torture, because Prof. Glossop talked about the new Muggle-born chase, making everyone uncomfortable. Then, on Charms, Lily had to sit with Adrian McLaren, who not only couldn't execute a proper Summoning Charm, but when he did it, he made Lily fly across the room and she almost broke a rib.

"Dobbs won't be pleased when he discovers it," Roxy said when she, Lucy and Lily left the hospital wing and went to the Great Hall for lunch. "Does it hurt?"

"A bit," Lily granted. "But it's okay, I've had worse injuries before. Remember when I fractured my collar bone?"

"And when you had that really bad skull break?" Roxy laughed.

"That one was real trouble for Madam Fenwick," Lily remembered, amused.

"Not funny," said Lucy. "It could have happened something really serious with Lily. She almost died both times."

"Come on, Lu," Lily said. "I'm still here, aren't I?"

But Lucy was far away from laughing. "Yes, you are, but only because you were unbelievably lucky." She turned to Roxy. "I bet you didn't think it was funny when it happened."

"Of course not," said Roxy quickly. "But what is the point of getting hurt if you can't laugh about it later?"

"You don't seem to be willing to laugh about _your_ injury, Roxanne."

They had arrived at the Great Hall. Lucy, who sighted her sister Molly, also from Hufflepuff, went away from us to join her.

"Blimey," said Roxy, sitting at the Gryffindor table with Lily. "She called me Roxanne. Everyone at this school is barking mad."

"People just overwhelmed, Roxy," Lily said. "With the Muggle-born chase, the exams… It isn't just her."

She wasn't saying that just to comfort Roxy. Everyone from years five and up were under so much pressure. The OWLs and the NEWTs were driving everyone crazy – though the sixth years wouldn't have to take the NEWTs until next year, they were just as involved on the studies as the seventh years.

The only good thing about all that was that Profª. Rackham was so worried about Lily and her ribs she had forgotten to ask for homework.

Transfiguration on the afternoon was okay, not many memorable events. Lucy was still cold toward them, though.

"She'll come around soon," Lily assured.

And she did… next class. It was Herbology. They had classes at Greenhouse Number Three.

It wasn't being a good day for Roxy. They were working with Fanged Geraniums that afternoon. Profª. Vimes was just saying that the students needed to be careful when the nearest plant stuck its fangs deep in Roxy's stretched arm. The cut was very ugly. No one got as worried as Lucy, though. Seeming guilty for being rude to her best friend, she offered herself to accompany Roxy to the hospital wing.

Lily had dinner with Phil Finnigan, who was very sad about Emme's father. Lily tried to console him, but she couldn't do much. Hugo's absence was making her feel bad, too.

She finished all her homework before Roxy came back to the common room. The Fanged Geranium's bite had left visible vestiges on Roxy's arm, but she didn't seem to mind. She told Lily how Lucy wasn't stressed out anymore, and the bite didn't seem to matter as much as that.

When Lily lay on her bed, finally, her last thought was that she was counting the days for Saturday.


End file.
